Are You Addicted to Health Food?

With the obesity epidemic raging out of control, not a day goes by when you don't receive some kind of reminder to take care of your health, watch your diet or get more exercise. These prompts are not necessarily bad - in fact, they get a lot of people moving in the right direction. A healthy attitude towards life is essential. But can a good thing go too far?

Some experts say "yes"! Most of us have heard of eating disorders, most commonly anorexia and bulimia. But there's a new disorder on the block and though probably not as life-threatening as starving or binging, addiction to healthy foods, when taken to extremes, can actually damage your health!

This pathological fixation on eating the proper foods all the time usually begins with the desire to overcome a chronic illness or to improve general health. Then before you know it your life becomes dominated by the effort to resist temptations leading to self-condemnation for lapses of self control and feelings of superiority over those who choose less pure diets.

Orthorexia, a term coined by Dr Steven Bratman, M.D. is a condition of growing proportions. Though rarely diagnosed by medical professionals due to its lack of clinical guidelines, orthorexia can have a significant negative impact on your daily life. In extreme cases it can lead to malnutrition, extreme weight loss and even death!

This food obsession is about control. These people know they can't control every facet of their lives, so in an effort to gain some amount of power, they strictly adhere to their diet. Unlike anorexia and bulimia, it's not about feeling fat it's about feeling healthy and pure. A healthy diet becomes an obsession which begins overtake daily life.

Of course most of us when starting a new diet pay close attention to our food choices and daily intake for several weeks - this is not orthorexia - all change takes careful consideration until it becomes a habit. But when your diet becomes an obsession and your concerns become chronic, you may be treading on dangerous ground.